Jim Crane hints at lower Astros ticket prices

Jim Crane may be new to the business of owning a baseball team but doesn’t need on-the-job-training to understand the best way to a fan’s heart is by winning.

With the Astros coming off the worst season in franchise history, with a winning season nowhere on the foreseeable horizon, Crane is seeking a quicker way to the fans’ hearts.

Through their wallets.

Crane strongly hinted Thursday, just hours after Major League Baseball approved his bid to buy the team from Drayton McLane for $610 million, that he will lower ticket prices for 2012.

“With where we’re at, logic would apply there,” said Crane, who will close the transfer of the team on Tuesday. “I think that’s one of the first things we’re going to do. We want to do whatever we can get the people back. In loading a truck, if you’ve got a little empty space, $2 is better than nothing.”

Crane and McLane originally reached a $680 million agreement in May. When MLB made sale approval contingent on moving from the National League to the American League in 2013, Crane negotiated a $70 million reduction in the sale price. Crane said he understands an outpouring of fan anger over the Astros having to sever ties with the NL that go back to 1962, that he, too, opposed the move.

“The fans are No. 1,” Crane said. “Let’s get that straight. Without the fans, none of us are here. We want to reach out to the fans. We’ll do some things for the fans immediately when we get running. We understand the tradition in baseball. We understand the NL, and people are tied to that. But that wasn’t an option for this town.

“With that being said, we’re going to make the best of what we have here. We’re going to put a winner on the field, and I think the fans will come back. And we want them to stay. We’ll put the winning team on the field, and hopefully the fans will embrace us.”

Crane didn’t promise the moon immediately. The 2011 payroll was $70.7 million on opening day and shrunk with the in-season trades of Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn and Jeff Keppinger. His target payroll number for the 2012?

“I’d look for it to go backward,” Crane said, “before it goes forward.”